Come What May
by AnneAlysse
Summary: An amnesiac awakens in an unfamiliar apartment with a stranger named Kakashi. He gives her food, shelter, clothing, and everything else a lost girl could need. Will he rue doing this when he finds out what she's done in the past? Better yet, will she?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I woke with a groan at the crack of freaking dawn.

My whole body ached, and I had absolutely no idea what had happened to land me in this pained state.

Come to think of it, I didn't remember anything at all. Not my age, where I was from, what I looked like... Not even my own name.

I sat bolt upright when I realized this, letting out what seemed to be a mix of a scream and a growl when pain tore mercilessly through my abdomen.

"Son of a bitch," I snarled, clutching my stomach and waiting for the pain to pass.

Once it had, I began to look around the room.

I was laying on a nice, big bed in a tidy apartment.

I had absolutely no idea where I was, or how I had gotten there, or, if we were having a question-fest, why I was there.

I caught sight of the door that was located right across from the foot of the bed and immediately got up, ignoring the pain that was assaulting my legs and stomach.

I staggered through the door and found myself in a small bathroom. I wanted to at least know what the hell I looked like.

Once I was standing still and no longer in so much pain, I peered into the mirror above the sink, leaning on the sink itself in an attempt to keep myself standing.

The woman I saw looking back at me seemed to be about twenty-five or so. She had this tough look about her that, for some odd reason, gave me the impression that she was an orphan, and had had a rough life. Her waist-length blonde hair was a mess, probably because she had just gotten out of bed, and her gorgeous golden eyes held confusion as well as a strange glint that said 'Mess with me and you'll be picking your teeth up off the floor.' It was that whole badass orphan thing again.

I cocked my head and the woman in the mirror did the same. "Maybe I really am an orphan or something..." I shrugged. "Who knows? I should probably attempt to find my name out, first." I jumped when I heard a man's voice.

"Yes. That'd be a good idea."

I spun to face the person who had spoken and came face-to-face with a silver-haired man. All I could see of his face was his right eye due to the fact that a mask and Leaf headband were hiding the rest of his features.

"Who the hell are you?" I noticed that my voice was a bit hoarse, so I added, "And why the hell do I hurt all over?!"

"I'm Kakashi Hatake, and it's probably because someone tried to kill you. I'm not really sure what happened to you, but I found you laying in the middle of the forest just outside the village, badly injured and unconsciousness," the man explained with a shrug.

"Oh. Does that mean you don't know who I am, either?"

"You don't know who you are?"

"Nope. I also don't know where I am."

"Well, you're in my apartment in Konoha."

"Oh." I cocked my head, wondering why the village's name sounded familiar to me. "Okay."

We were both silent for a moment, just staring at each other, then he said, "I think I'm going to go buy you some clothes. I don't think any of mine will actually fit you." When a look of confusion appeared on my face, Kakashi cleared his throat and tilted his head toward my chest before rushing out of the room.

I soon heard another door close, but I was too busy looking down at myself to notice.

"Pervert," I muttered, staring down at my slightly-larger-than-normal breasts. "My boobs aren't _that_ big." I then realized I was clad in nothing but my white underwear and some bandages and blushed. "Oh, great. A pervert saved my life." I limped out the bathroom door and mumbled, "Well, at least he covered my chest with those bandages instead of just leaving me all...naked..."

I flopped on the bed, only to utter another soft scream of pain when my back met the soft surface. I just waited for the pain to pass, then eventually fell asleep.

I awoke a while later to what was presumably the sound of Kakashi entering the tiny second-floor apartment.

I kept my eyes closed, so Kakashi, probably thinking I was still asleep, tried to be a bit more quiet.

I realized he was being quiet just so he could sneak up on me a moment too late.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, his masked mouth right by my ear.

I screamed and rolled off the bed, letting out another, slightly quieter scream when I hit the floor at Kakashi's feet.

The man cringed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you do that."

I slowly got to my knees, gritting my teeth. "It's fine."

"But seriously, how are you feeling?" Kakashi questioned again as he helped me back onto the bed.

"I was feeling fine until you made me fall off of the bed." I glared at him, but the pain in my gold eyes was hiding most of the look's intended anger.

"I already said I was sorry," the silver-haired ninja sighed. When I didn't reply, he said, "Well, I bought you some clothes." He handed me a bag, which I carefully set on my lap.

"Thanks. You seem to have gotten everything in the right size." I blushed the slightest bit when I caught sight of the bras mixed in with the other clothing in the large bag and repeated, "_Everything..._"

"That's good," Kakashi replied calmly, apparently missing my reddening cheeks. "You should probably get dressed, then. We have places to go."

"We? Where the hell would I have to go?"

"I have to go train my team in a few minutes, and I don't think it would be wise to leave you alone for that long. Besides, I want to test you to see whether you're a ninja or not. You didn't have a headband or any weapons with you when I found you."

"Oh." I got to my feet with my bag of clothes in hand. "Alright."

Twenty minutes later, I was standing nervously before a group of three kids, wearing a pair of strappy black sandals, a pair of tight white capris, and an equally tight sky blue T-shirt.

One of the children, a blond, seemed to be having way too much fun yelling at Kakashi for being late again. Another, a pink-haired girl, was trying to make the blond believe Kakashi's excuse of, "I had to help save a woman's life this morning" by getting him to notice me, after fawning over the third member of this little team of misfits, of course. The black-haired boy ignored the girl and studied me without a word.

Once the group had everything all straightened out, Kakashi said, "This is the girl I saved."

"What's her name?" that annoying blond boy asked.

"She can't remember it because she's an amnesiac," Kakashi stated with a sigh.

"Oh. What are we gonna call her, then?" Blondie questioned.

The older man cocked his head thoughtfully. "I'm not sure." He glanced at me. "What do you want to be called until you remember your real name?"

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. Just pick a random name."

"Alright. Does Keiko work?"

"Sure," I answered with a nod.

Kakashi turned back to his students and said, "Keiko."

"Okay!" The blond rushed over to me. "Hi, Keiko! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm gonna be Hokage someday!"

"Um... I'm very happy for you, Naruto," I said, looking down at the hyperactive bastard with my pale eyebrows raised.

When it looked like the boy was going to start rambling or something, the pink-haired girl hit him over the head and shouted, "Leave her alone, Naruto!" After glaring at the blond boy for a few more moments, she looked at me with a smile. "Sorry about my annoying teammate's...annoyingness. I'm Sakura Haruno, and this is Sasuke Uchiha."

My expression became one of confusion as I studied the black-haired shinobi that had just been introduced. "Sasuke Uchiha..." I murmured to myself, now focusing on the ground. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

Cold red and black Sharingan eyes flashed through my mind as the words, "Avoid my younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, at all costs. I wouldn't want you killing him before I've had the chance to do so," echoed inside my head. I stumbled back as these words were followed by, "Your mission is to-"

The memory stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Kakashi asked softly, looking concerned as I put a hand to my head.

"Yeah," I whispered in reply, unable to speak any louder. "I'm fine. Just a little headache."

"Do you think your headache will effect your fighting abilities at all?"

"My fighting abilities?" I asked, looking at the masked man while my voice went back to its normal volume, although it was still a little bit hoarse. "Do I even have any of those?"

"We'll find out." The smile I could see through that damned mask made me feel uneasy. His gaze wandered back to the three genin he called his team. "Attack her, but go easy on her until she seems to be able to fight. If she ever gets to that point, anyway." That being said, he stepped away, his hand falling from my shoulder, leaving me as an easy target for a few young shinobi.

The children eyed me like I was no more than fresh meat, then lunged at me with kunai in hand.

I screamed like a scared little girl as I turn and ran for the cover of the surrounding trees.

A kunai grazed the side of my leg suddenly, and I stumbled, but kept running, anyway.

"Hey!" I called to the silent forest, the trees of which were now hiding the three kids from view. "That's not nice."

A few shuriken careening toward my face were all I got in response to my words.

"Little bastards," I growled while instinctively sidestepping the weapons with ease. "Huh... Maybe I am a ninja..." I began running again, reaching back and catching a kunai that was headed for my skull with that same instinctive ease.

Still armed with that single kunai knife, I gracefully leapt up onto a tree branch and began jumping from tree to tree.

Next thing I knew, I was spinning around and blocking the sandal-clad foot of Mr. Uzumaki. The force of the blocked attack knocked me off of the tree branch, but I easily back-flipped in the air and landed on my feet. A looked up and found Naruto hurtling toward me, a single kunai prepared to collide with my face.

I blocked the weapon with my own kunai, then shoved the blond genin back with more strength than I knew I had before delivering a nice roundhouse kick to the poor guy's face. His back hit a tree way harder than I thought it would, then he fell to the ground, unconscious.

I cringed. "Oopsies." I didn't have much time to feel guilty about knocking Naruto out, though. I found myself blocking a punch from Sasuke before I even knew what I was doing.

While I shoved him back a few feet, Sakura came at me from the side, hands gripping several pointy kunai. A powerful kick to the stomach knocked her on her ass pretty damn easily.

She sat up slowly, trying to catch her breath while watching Sasuke charge at me, performing hand signs the entire time.

He slid to a stop a couple of feet away from me and yelled something containing the words "Fire Style." I was too busy preparing to block the fire I knew was coming to hear the Uchiha's exact words.

When the flames cleared and Sasuke expected to see a charred corpse, I was nowhere to be found.

My shout of, "Ha ha! Suckers!" gave me away, though, as I jumped off of a tree branch behind the black-haired boy, performing hand signs I didn't even know for reasons I didn't know.

I figured it out when I hit the ground with lightning-like sparks of electricity dancing around my fair-skinned hands, one simple sentence flashing through my mind: "Lightning Summoner Technique."

Blocking the punch I had aimed at his face did no good, seeing as the electricity crackling around my clenched fist simply raced up his arm, anyway. He cried out as the shocks just kept coming, running along his entire body until he collapsed, unconscious like his dumb, blond teammate.

That left only Sakura to fight me.

Her green eyes widened, following the electricity that danced around my hands, now flowing up my arms and illuminating the sudden dangerous look I had in my gold eyes.

I was about to lunge at her when I gasped, staggering back. The chakra making up the lightning crackled gradually out of existence and that hint of deadly psychoticness left my eyes. I sank to my knees, panting.

"What the hell?" I rasped, my voice even more hoarse now. "How did I do that? What exactly did I do? Why did I... Why did I..." I couldn't say it out loud, so I finished it mentally instead. _Why did I want to kill her?_

I felt Kakashi's presence at my side a few seconds later, but I didn't dare look at him, fearing that my eyes might still hold that twisted expression I had felt filling them earlier.

"Keiko, are you all right?" he asked gently, apparently having missed my look of murderous intent.

"Yeah. I'm...I'm fine," I lied, gazing down at one of my trembling hands.

"Okay. That's enough for today, guys," Kakashi said, looking around at his three students, all of whom seemed to be at least partially conscious now. "You're dismissed."

The children scattered like I was going to suddenly try to eat them or something.

Kakashi ignored their obviously too speedy retreat and turned his attention back to me. "Let's get you something to eat. You're probably hungry now, and your wounds are more than likely hurting again." He helped me to my feet, unaware of just how right he was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ramen. The cheap bastard took me out for ramen.

And, sadly, I loved him for it.

I shoveled the delicious noodles into my mouth like I was starving, and Kakashi simply watched me, having claimed he wasn't hungry.

"You remembered a jutsu earlier." It wasn't a question.

I looked up at the silver-haired man and nodded slowly. "Sort of. It was more instinct than anything, and I doubt I could do it again at will." I sighed, my gold eyes dropping back to my food. "I can't remember what I did, exactly. All I remember is-" I cut myself off and closed my eyes, my grip on the chopsticks I held tightening.

"What? What do you remember?"

"Nothing."

"If it's making you do that, then I highly doubt it's nothing."

I didn't realize what he meant until I felt the pain of my own fingernails digging into my palm, accompanied by the odd sensation of blood dripping slowly down my hand.

Several moments passed before I managed to whisper, "I wanted to kill them, Kakashi." My voice shook as I added, "I wanted to kill them all."

The shinobi's response to my words was silence.

He was going to lock me up or kick me out of the village or something horrible like that, I just knew it.

Turns out, I was wrong.

"You stopped yourself before you did any real harm. Your need to kill was more than likely just a simple instinct, signifying that you're probably a fierce shinobi. That doesn't make you a bad person."

My eyes snapped open, my death grip on those chopsticks loosening and allowing my nails to stop digging into my palm. "You don't think I'm a monster or something, then?"

"Of course not." Kakashi smiled at me reassuringly. "Like I said, it just means you're probably a fierce shinobi."

I felt a faint smile spread across my face. "All right." I looked down at my ramen and blushed slightly. "Th-thank you, Kakashi."

He seemed slightly amused by my sudden nervousness. "You're welcome, Keiko."

"Here," Kakashi said as we exited the little ramen shop a few minutes later, handing me a napkin.

"Thanks." I took the proffered item and began to carefully wipe the blood away from the nail-shaped cuts on my palm.

"We should probably go see the Hokage now. I went to see him while you were asleep yesterday, and he told me to bring you by once you were up and moving again."

I nodded, still dabbing at my injuries. "Okay."

"Okay? You're okay with it?" Kakashi asked, sounding mildly surprised.

"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked while arching a single blonde eyebrow at him.

"Well, I thought you'd at least ask me why you had to go see the Hokage or something else to that degree. I didn't think you'd simply agree to go." The silver-haired man was already over his initial shock.

I shrugged, turning my attention back to my palm. "He's going to want to question me. Why else would I have to go see him?"

Kakashi nodded, remaining silent as he led me to the Hokage's office.

-

"You say you're an amnesiac?" the Hokage said questioningly while peering at me over his desk.

"Yes," I answered with a single nod.

"You don't remember your name, your village, or anything of that sort?"

"Yes. All I know is that I'm a ninja, and that's actually just a guess."

The old man nodded slowly. "I see." He then fell silent, and I fought the urge to fidget or glance at Kakashi, whom I could feel standing a few feet behind me. "You go by Keiko now, correct?" the Hokage finally asked a few moments later.

I gave another nod and said, "Yes."

"All right, then, Keiko. You can stay here in Konoha for as long as you'd like, but you must come to me if you remember anything." Without waiting for a response, he turned his attention to Kakashi. "You don't have any problems with her continuing to live with you, do you?"

"No, sir," Kakashi replied.

"It's settled, then. Keiko, you will stay with Kakashi, and he must take care of you until either you find some way to support yourself or he deems you untrustworthy. All right?"

"All right," Kakashi and I answered in unison.

"Good. You are dismissed."

I turned and followed Kakashi out of the room without a word.

Once we were outside, I said, "I expected more questioning than that."

"As did I," Kakashi agreed.

"Why didn't he question me more?"

"He must believe you."

"Do you believe me?"

"Of course. Now, come on. We need to get home so we can get you settled in."

A few hours later, I was alone in Kakashi's small apartment, dancing around in my undies to a song that was playing in my head. I had just gotten out of the shower, too, so my hair was wet.

It was dark by now, causing me to already be a little bit uneasy, jumping at every little sound, so I started disregarding the thumps and voices when I realized that I was just being paranoid.

That's why I didn't pay any attention to the soft giggling outside my door.

However, I froze on the way to the bed, where my clothes just happened to be laying, when I heard the door handle turn, the door slowly beginning to open.

_That door should be locked,_ I thought with a gulp, my gold eyes widening.

"Oh, Koushoku-chan," a female voice called playfully from the doorway behind me. "Didn't I tell you to quit dancing around in your underwear? Somebody might see you and find you hot enough to rape."

Slowly, I turned to face the person speaking. "Koushoku?" I said questioningly. "Who the hell is Koushoku?"

The brunette girl, younger than me by at least a couple of years and also quite a bit shorter, cocked her head at me, her straight, just-past-shoulder-length hair swaying slightly as she did so. Her dark green eyes held confusion. "You don't remember your own name, Kou?"

"Um... No. I have amnesia, so I really don't remember anything," I answered, my own eyes mirroring the puzzlement in hers.

"Amnesia?" she said, her head tilting the other way. "How the hell did you end up with amnesia?"

I rolled my eyes, now a tiny bit annoyed. "I'm an amnesiac, moron. I don't remember."

She seemed to take no offense from the insult, simply centering her head and saying, "Oh."

"So, who are you, exactly?" I asked after a moment of silence.

She smiled at that and happily replied, "I'm Mika, your partner."

"My...partner?"

"Yeah." The girl's smile grew as she closed the door behind herself and took a few steps toward me. "We work together as assassins, thieves, whatever jobs we can get our hands on. We're currently supposed to be helping Itachi Uchiha get that little Naruto brat."

That name, Itachi Uchiha, set off the memory that Sasuke's name had sparked earlier.

Cold red and black Sharingan eyes... The words, "Avoid my younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha, at all costs. I wouldn't want you killing him before he's had the chance to face me. Your mission is to-"

I filled in the blanks. "Our mission is to capture Naruto Uzumaki..."

Mika beamed. "Uh-huh. We're also supposed to-"

"Avoid Sasuke Uchiha," I finished for her, slowly sitting down on the clothes-littered bed. "Yes, I know."

She cocked her head again, looking perplexed once more. "I thought you had amnesia..."

"I do. Things just trigger memories occasionally." I held my face in my hands for a moment before looking back up at Mika, who was now standing directly in front of me. "So, what's my name? Where am I from? Do I have any family?"

The kunoichi dressed all in black grimaced at the last question. "Your name is Koushoku Sukai. You're from Suna, like I am, but we're both missing-nin. And no, you don't have any remaining family."

"I don't? What happened to them?"

This received another grimace from the brown-haired girl. "You killed them all, Kou. They got in your way when you tried to kill the Kazekage and take over the country, so you killed them."

"I tried to kill the Kazekage?" I just kept getting more and more confused...

"Yeah. You gave up on this after killing your family, though, realizing it really wasn't worth it."

"Oh... What else have I done?" I asked slowly, not sure whether I really wanted to know or not.

Mika opened her mouth to speak, but the door handle began to turn. I glanced toward it, wide-eyed, then I turned back to tell Mika to leave, but she was already gone, leaving nothing but an open window in her wake.

The cool breeze from it hit me just as the door opened, and I looked at Kakashi while shivering.

He arched an eyebrow at me. "Why do you have the window open?"

"It was hot in here a minute ago," I lied through my chattering teeth.

"Ah." The man closed the door, then went over to the window and shut it casually. "Who were you talking to?"

I growled inwardly, damning the fact that he had heard Mika and me. "Myself."

"Mm," was all he said in response, giving me the impression that he knew I was lying, but didn't plan to pry. "It's getting late. You should go to sleep now," he told me while heading toward the door.

"Wait... Where are you going?" I questioned, getting to my feet.

"Out." Then he was gone, the door shut and locked behind him.

I turned the light off and laid down on the bed with a sigh, not bothering to put my clothes on. I stared at the window, shut and locked just like the door, until I fell asleep several minutes later, wondering where exactly 'out' was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I awoke the next morning to Kakashi saying softly to me, "Keiko, wake up."

"Why?" I groaned, rolling onto my side so I could keep my back to him.

"Because you have to come with me to training again," was the masked male's reply.

"Nuh uh. You go to training. I shall sleep."

"Keiko, get up." The subtle coldness in the shinobi's tone had me opening my eyes almost instantly. I looked up to find that same slight chill reflected in his single eye. "You have time to take a shower and get dressed, but that's it. I'll be waiting here when you're ready." He strode over to the window, keeping his back to me as I got up and headed to the bathroom.

As I showered, I wondered what his problem was. Had he heard everything that strange girl, Mika, and I had discussed last night? Or was he just in a bad mood? I couldn't decide even after thinking about it for ten minutes, though I hoped it was the latter.

Kakashi was still standing by the window when I came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, a towel wrapped around my lean body and my wet hair plastered to my face and neck. I hesitantly put my back to him and let the towel drop to the floor. I glanced over my shoulder at him a few times as I put my clothes on, but he didn't look at me once.

Once I was clad in the white capris, blue shirt, and strappy black sandals that combined to create what I had decided to call my usual attire, I turned to fully face him and said softly, "There. We can go now."

Without a word, Kakashi headed out the door, and I had no choice but to follow.

We reached team seven's meeting place after a few minutes, and Naruto and Sakura immediately began yelling at Kakashi, who smiled and gave an excuse, which seemed to be the norm. Sakura stopped shouting after a moment, however, when she noticed me just standing their, my expression sad and my gold eyes focused on the ground.

"Are you okay?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked me quietly as she approached me, leaving Naruto to do all of the yelling.

"Yeah. I just...I think Kakashi might be mad at me or something," I answered softly.

"Oh." She opened her mouth to say more, but her sensei cut her off.

"We have a mission today," the silver-haired man stated.

"Really?!" Naruto asked excitedly. "What kind of mission?!"

"The three of you will be weeding a flowerbed."

Naruto groaned at this, Sakura sighed, and Sasuke just gave a slight shake of his head.

"That's it?! Can't we do something more challenging?!" Naruto asked.

"Not today. Now, let's go." He then proceeded to lead the way to where the mission would be taking place. The moment we reached our destination, an older woman wearing a warm smile rushed over to us. She spoke to Kakashi for a few minutes, then she told the genin what they needed to do before walking away.

"Keiko and I will be watching you from over here," Kakashi stated as he walked over to lean against the house by the flowerbed, almost immediately pulling out a book. I arched an eyebrow at the title on its red cover, but ignored it and simply walked over to stand beside him. A few minutes passed, me keeping my eyes on the ground and Kakashi keeping his eye on his book. I almost jumped when the male spoke, but I managed to keep myself still. "I discovered something very interesting last night."

"Oh?" I swallowed and tried to keep my voice from shaking liking my hands were threatening to do. "What?"

"There's a missing-nin from Sunagakure wandering around the Fire Country. She calls herself Mika Touzoku, and her name is listed in the Bingo Book."

"The Bingo Book?" I asked, hoping I could get him off topic for...well, ever.

"A book that contains information on missing-nin. She's said to be a somewhat short, twenty-three-year-old girl with brown hair and green eyes. Have you met anyone matching that description?"

For only a split second, I thought about lying to him, but then I blurted, "Yes. She spoke to me last night." When I glanced over at Kakashi, he seemed the slightest bit stunned, though he quickly recovered and became emotionless once more.

"What did she tell you?"

"That my name's Koushoku Sukai, and I'm from Suna." I decided to leave out the rest of what she told me, hoping that he hadn't heard what Mika had said about me killing my family.

The masked ninja was silent for a moment, then he said simply, "She lied to you."

My neck nearly snapped due to how quickly I turned my head toward him. "What?"

"You aren't really from Sunagakure. The Koushoku Sukai whose name is written in the Bingo Book grew up in Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning."

My gold eyes widened. "My...The name that girl told me is mine is in that book?"

He ignored me and went on, now staring straight ahead even though he was still holding his book. "She went to Suna immediately after murdering her family. Rumor has it that she let her goal of killing the Kazekage slip once, so her family tried to convince her not to do it. When she wouldn't listen to them, they tried to use force to keep her from going to Sunagakure. She fought back, killed them all, and went anyway. Never once did she actually try to assassinate the Kazekage, though."

"Why did...Why did she want to kill the Kazekage instead of the Kage of her own country?" I questioned shakily.

"No one knows. What is known, however, is that her lust for power is what originally drove her to begin killing people and doing other unspeakable things, though that lust eventually vanished and turned into an insatiable desire to create mayhem and inflict pain upon innocent people." Still, the man wouldn't look at me, which relieved me slightly when I felt tears streaming down my pale cheeks.

"Kakashi," I said, my voice a soft whimper. "I don't want to be this Koushoku person. I don't...I don't want to be like that..."

His eye closed, and he murmured, "I know." He was silent for a moment, then he opened his eye and looked over at me, finally putting his book away. "That's why I haven't told the Hokage about any of this. If you never regain your memories, you can continue being Keiko, and you never have to become Koushoku, nor will you have to be treated as if you were her."

I just stood there for a moment, gazing at Kakashi without any clue as to what I should do. Then, I pretty much attacked him, throwing my arms around him and hugging him tightly as I began to sob openly. "Thank you, Kakashi. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," the man said, patting my back awkwardly.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei. What did you do to her?" I heard Naruto ask.

"Nothing, Naruto. Just keep weeding the garden," Kakashi replied calmly.

"Hn. Nothing, my foot," Naruto muttered. I moved my face away from Kakashi's shoulder just in time to witness Sakura's fist colliding with the blond boy's skull. "OUCH! What the heck was that for?!"

With a little laugh, I looked up at Kakashi, happy to see that he had a smile hidden beneath his mask.

-

"Do you want to sleep in your bed tonight, Kakashi?" I asked randomly as we sat at the ramen bar, having a late dinner. It was nearly ten o'clock, and most of our day had been spent helping to repair the flowerbed that Naruto's dumb ass had completely destroyed. Apparently, he didn't know what the hell weeds were, so he had just started yanking everything out of the ground once he'd gotten too impatient. Fixing that had been _hell._

"I would love to, but you need it more than I do," Kakashi stated, staring down at his empty bowl. He had eaten his ramen quickly, and I hadn't even gotten to see what he looked like without that damned mask of his. I'd been too distracted by my own food, which I was still eating.

"We could just share, if you want," I suggested.

"Do you honestly think that would be appropriate?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on, Kakashi. It's not like we're going to do anything. Besides, who cares how appropriate it is? It's not like anyone's going to know about it."

"I'd know."

I finished off the rest of my ramen, then looked over at Kakashi. "Fine, then. You can sleep wherever you want. Alone." I got up and walked out of Ichiraku Ramen, leaving the male to pay for our food. He caught up with me after a moment, walking alongside me and matching my calm, unhurried pace.

"You really wouldn't mind sharing the bed with me?"

"Of course not." I glanced over at him, arching a single blonde eyebrow. "Why? Are you considering it?"

"No. I just wondered how you really felt about it."

"Well, you're no fun." We walked along silently for a few seconds, then I asked, "Why do you think that Mika girl lied to me?"

"Probably because not even she knew the truth."

"So you think Koushoku lies to her own comrades?"

"Mhm. But there's probably a good reason for it."

"Yeah..." Another wordless minute had gone by before I said softly, my eyes focused on the ground, "Hey, Kakashi?"

"Mm?"

"What would happen to me if I regained all of my memories?"

Kakashi didn't answer me for several seconds, but when he finally did, I almost wanted to hit him. "Let's not think about that."

Instead of decking him, though, I simply said, "All right." The rest of the walk to his apartment was completely silent, and all that was said once we got there was, "Take the bed, you bastard. I don't think I'm going to be sleeping much tonight."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was five in the freaking morning by now, and I still hadn't gotten any sleep. Then again, I wasn't really trying to sleep. I was just standing by the window, staring out at what I could see of the dark village.

Kakashi was asleep on the bed, and, much to my dismay, he still had his mask on. I was going to have to rip the damned thing off of his face someday, or the curiosity would probably drive me insane.

I glanced at him, then decided that standing here for another hour would do me no good and headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower.

I sighed while I stripped, watching with a bored expression as my clothes hit the floor. Once all of the garments were in a neat little pile, I stepped into the shower and turned the water on. A few seconds later, I had warm water cascading down my back soothingly, making me realize how sleepy I really was. I managed to keep myself awake the whole time, though, exiting the shower after washing my hair and everything.

I soon left the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body, pleased to find that Kakashi was still asleep. I silently went over to where my clothes were laying in a pile on the floor, picking up the garments I wanted to wear before putting them on the table and letting my towel drop. I dressed quickly in my normal attire, and about a minute later, I was heading out of the apartment, my hair still damp.

The early morning air was rather chilly, leading me to quickly regret leaving the apartment with wet hair and no jacket. I shivered and glanced up at the sky as I wandered down a random street. From what I could tell, the sun wouldn't be up for another hour and a half. I sighed and looked back at the path ahead of me, disliking the lack of sunlight.

As I walked along, I realized that the streets were empty. This made me feel somewhat uneasy, but I knew it was probably normal. I mean, really. Who would be out at five-thirty in the morning, anyway?

At around six o'clock, that strange uneasiness grew, and I began to become even more paranoid. I looked around slowly, acting as if I was just innocently glancing at the houses to either side of me and not searching for something unusual. My pace slowed when I got a really bad feeling, ceasing completely after a moment. Then, my body tensed, and I finally felt it...

There was someone standing right behind me.

I felt nothing but this person's presence, even though they couldn't have been standing more than three inches away from me. Somehow, I knew that they were taller than me, and they were familiar in some strange way...

"Who are you?" I asked after a long moment of silence. My body tensed more when I had a man's muscular arm around my middle, pulling me back into a strong body.

"You really don't remember?" this man questioned in return, his voice a soft, almost seductive whisper in my ear.

I shuddered, but immediately said, "I don't remember anything, actually."

The male's aura of utter sexiness melted away when he let out a little dejected squeak, letting me go so he could move to stand in front of me. "Not even your own boyfriend?" As I looked up at the guy, I realized he was freaking adorable in spite of his undeniable hotness. Spiky, dark brown hair, pretty blue eyes, an amazing physique...but the disbelieving look of shocked hurt on his face kept him one step away from being completely sexy.

I shook my head and said calmly, "Nope. Sorry."

"But...we've been together for almost a whole year now!"

"Sorry, dude. I got nothin'."

"Oh," the poor guy sighed. "Well, I'm Kiwa Buke, and I'm madly in love with the non-amnesiac version of Koushoku Sukai."

"I'm Keiko, and I...happen to be the amnesiac version of Koushoku Sukai."

"I know. It's incredibly depressing," Kiwa groaned, his shoulders slumping.

"Um...I'm...uh...sorry...?"

"Don't be," the man said, shaking his head. "It's not like you purposely lost your memories." He let out another soft sigh, finally looking away from the ground and up at me. "I guess I'll go, then. Try to find me if you ever become the non-amnesiac Koushoku, okay?" He turned and started to walk away, but he stopped suddenly and came back to me. "Oh, yeah. I wanted to give you this, too." He slid a sword out of his belt, taking the weapon's shiny, beautifully decorated gold sheathe with it. The katana's hilt was the same golden color, and I couldn't help but notice that it matched my eyes rather well. "It's your Raikou no Yaiba, your Lightning Sword."

He held the weapon out to me, and I took it while cocking my head. I slid it out of its sheathe carefully and began to study it. To the naked eye, it seemed like no more than a gold-bladed katana, but when one touched it, they could feel the electrical energy pulsating within it.

While continuing to look the weapon over, I casually asked, "Are you a killer, too, or is that one of Koushoku's traits that you just have to deal with?"

The male's glare was so fierce I swore the hatred it held was almost palpable. "She's not just a killer, but yes, I do help her on some of her missions, and if someone needs to be killed, I will kill them."

"Oh...You seem rather cute for a murderer," I commented, managing to remain calm as I sheathed the golden katana and looked up at Kiwa. He wasn't much taller than me, but it was enough to force me to literally look up whenever I wanted to meet his dark blue eyes.

"Meh," he mumbled, averting his gaze. The slight blush that reached his cheeks had me grinning, but my smile faded when he turned and began to walk away. "I'll come check up on you occasionally, so don't be alarmed if you feel like someone's watching you."

"Why would you do that?" I asked, cocking my head again.

He stopped walking and glanced back at me, smiling softly. "Because even though you don't remember everything, you're still my Koushoku, and I don't want anything to happen to you." He then turned and began to walk again, vanishing suddenly a few seconds later.

I stared at the spot where he had last been as I reached up and touched one of my cheeks, wondering if it felt as hot as I thought it did.

"Damn...Bastard made me blush," I remarked breathily, almost without actually thinking about it. I stared at that spot for a moment longer before I turned and began to head back in the direction of Kakashi's apartment, deciding that I should probably tell him about this or something.

-

Kakashi was sitting on the edge of his bed when I entered the room, and he glanced away from his book at the sound of the door closing. "Keiko. Where have you-"

"I met Koushoku's boyfriend this morning," I interrupted him quietly. "His name is Kiwa Buke, and he gave me this," I added, holding the sword up for him to see.

He nodded and got to his feet, his eye on the sword. "That man's been mentioned before in relation to Koushoku, as has that sword," he stated while allowing his gaze to return to me. "Did he try to hurt you or anything?"

I shook my head numbly, walking over to the bed so I could flop down on it. "Nah. He just made me feel funny, like the real Koushoku had decided to force her emotions into me."

"You're all right, then?"

"I guess so. A bit weirded out and confused, but that's nothing that won't go away in a few minutes."

"Good, because we're going to be leaving in a few minutes."

I sat up, feeling slightly alarmed. "What? Why? Where are we going?"

"Relax, Keiko. We're just going to go eat before we have to leave on a simple escort mission."

"What about your students? Don't you have to train them today or something?"

He shook his and said, "No. I've already told them that they get the next few days off."

"Oh...All right. Why do I have to go with you?"

"Because you're my responsibility, and even though I trust you, I don't think it would be wise to leave you here by yourself for a few days."

"Ah. Understandable. I wouldn't want to be left alone for that long, anyway."

"Mm. So, would you like ramen again, or should we get something different?"

I got to my feet with a smile, forgetting that I still had my sword in my hand. "Ramen sounds lovely." Kakashi opened the door for me and followed me out a few seconds later, soon leading the way to the ramen stand.

-

Once we had eaten, we packed some supplies and headed out of the village, beginning the trip in silence. I had a backpack on my back and my sword in my hand while Kakashi had his only bag slung over his shoulder. The trip wasn't supposed to take more than a day or two, which was why we didn't bring too much stuff with us.

Currently, we were on our way to a small, nearby village, where we were supposed to pick up our client, then head to another village. The woman we had to escort wasn't actually being targeted by anyone or anything, but she was a rich, lonely, paranoid woman, and she thought she needed some protection, just in case.

"I don't want to be a killer," I said suddenly, about ten minutes into the silent trip.

"So, don't kill anyone," was Kakashi's simple, casual solution.

"But if I really am this Koushoku person, I've already killed a lot of people, haven't I?" I asked softly, my gaze now focused sadly on the golden sword I carried. This time, the male didn't even respond. I decided not to say anything else, allowing us to make the rest of the journey in silence.

We reached our destination at about ten o'clock, finding the village rather crowded and busy. We made our way through the people-filled streets slowly, but surely, soon making it to the large residence of the woman we had been sent to escort. She was a relatively short young woman, thin and pretty with big brown eyes and waist-length, pale blonde hair. Kakashi was the one who spoke to her, and all I learned was that her name was Yuzuna Yukinaza, and I was going to be carrying a damn good portion of her belongings for her. Needless to say, I was _thrilled_.

We began our journey to the next village after a few minutes with Kakashi and me carrying another three bags each, and I quickly learned why this beautiful woman didn't have a husband or any real friends.

She would not shut up.

"And then, he just got up and left, right in the middle of my story. He hadn't even eaten much of his dinner, but I was forced to pay for the whole thing," Yuzuna said as she walked between Kakashi and me. "I still can't figure out why he did that." I enjoyed about three seconds of glorious silence before the woman started chattering again, this time talking about how horrible her hair had looked when she'd woken up this morning.

As I stared straight ahead, appearing all nice and calm on the outside, I wondered whether the urge I had to kill this chick was influenced by Koushoku or something that was all my own. In the end, I decided that it was a little bit of both. The fact that I wasn't going along with that urge was all my own, though.

The three of us stopped in another village at sundown, quickly finding an inn to stay in for the night. Kakashi decided that we only needed two rooms, and I was the one who was forced to stay with Yuzuna. Kakashi claimed that this was because I was a girl, and I told him that I could probably make him one if he wanted me to. He didn't go for it.

Luckily, Yuzuna fell asleep after we'd been trapped in that room together for only an hour, leaving me to have a few minutes of peace before I did the same. While she got to sleep on the room's only bed, I was stuck on the floor. This didn't really bother me, though, so I fell asleep only seconds after I laid down, my sword still in my hand.

-

I shot up at the sound of a shriek, immediately looking in the direction of the bed. Yuzuna was sitting up, looking at the nightstand beside her bed with wide eyes. She scrambled away from it as I got to my feet to see what she was freaking out about. I rolled my eyes when I saw that it was just a spider, glancing back when I heard the door open. Kakashi was standing there, fully dressed even though it was only six o'clock in the morning.

"Just a spider," I told him, having to almost yell in order to be heard over Yuzuna's cries of, "Kill it! Kill it!" The male took a step in the direction of the nightstand, but he stopped when I headed toward the piece of furniture. He and Yuzuna both watched, one shocked and the other calm, as I carefully picked up the small arachnid and went over to the open window, quickly depositing the creature outside. "There," I said as I turned to look at Yuzuna. "It's gone."

Instead of thanking me, the woman began yelling at me angrily. "Why didn't you kill it?! Those nasty things deserve to die!" She said more, but I started tuning her out. My eyes were on my sword, laying atop the pale blue blanket I had been covered with during the night. Yuzuna didn't seem to notice the sudden lull I had slipped into, but I knew Kakashi had. I could feel his eye on me as my mind conjured up vivid images of what I could do to this annoying bitch with that pretty sword...

Oh, the problems it would solve...and the problems it would create.

I stopped thinking these dark thoughts when Kakashi calmly interrupted Yuzuna's angry rant, his eye never leaving me. "Well, it's gone now, Miss Yukinaza. We should prepare to leave soon as well." He stared at me for a few more seconds before leaving the room. I hurried into the bathroom, wanting to get in the shower before Yuzuna could start talking again.

-

A little after seven, Yuzuna, Kakashi, and I were heading out of the village we had stayed in. My sword was now shoved into the backpack I had on my back, half of it sticking out of the bag. I had decided that it would be safer if I didn't have the weapon in my hand, seeing as I was already feeling that urge to off Yuzuna again. She was now ranting about how much she liked flowers, which was a conversation I found even more boring than the one we'd had about her hair yesterday.

After about two hours of walking, we reached our next destination. As we headed toward the residence Yuzuna needed to go to, she told Kakashi and me all about the rich, wonderful man she was here to meet. Apparently, he was going to love her and want to marry her and have lots of kids with her and...Once again, I began tuning her out, listening again only when she said that this man's house was coming into view. It was a mansion, of course, all big and fancy and absolutely perfect for her. A tall brunette man met us outside of the house, thanking Kakashi for escorting Yuzuna and completely ignoring me. He had a few servants take the woman's belongings from us, then Kakashi and I left, beginning our trip back to Konoha.

We moved faster now that we didn't have to drag some spoiled bitch along with us, but we still had to stop at an inn once night fell. This time, we got only one room, and the male was nice enough to give me the bed.

I sat on the bed and watched as he set up his own little bed on the floor. I had my legs crossed and my gold sword laying across my lap, my fingers unconsciously tracing the designs on the sheathe.

"You noticed," I said after a moment, still watching him.

"What?" he questioned while continuing to create his bed.

"Earlier, when I started to want to kill Yuzuna...You noticed."

"I did."

I dropped my gaze to the sword on my lap. "I don't like having these thoughts."

"I know."

"Is that why you didn't react earlier?"

"Yes. I knew you wouldn't do anything."

"Oh...Thank you."

"For what?"

I laid down, fully clothed and not bothering to get under the covers. "Not thinking I'm some heartless killer or something."

"Mm," was all he said to this. He finished getting his bed made, then he got to his feet and left the room. Instead of wondering where he'd gone, I laid a hand on my sword, resting on the blankets beside me, and fell asleep.

-

I woke up the next morning and found Kakashi sitting on the edge of the bed, reading calmly. He glanced back at me when I sat up, yawning.

"It's almost seven. You should get ready to go," he said simply before returning to his book.

"All right," I replied with another yawn. I then got to my feet and did as I had been told. I showered, got dressed, left the room to eat, then we left the inn.

The trip back to Konoha began in silence, but that was changed after a few minutes. Oddly enough, Kakashi was the one who broke the silence this time. And I did not like what he had to say.

"Tsunade wants you to go through reverse hypnosis," the man told me simply.

"Why?" I asked calmly.

"Because she wants you to regain your memories."

I shook my head, still appearing completely calm even though I was freaking out on the inside. "I don't want to remember anything."

"You don't have a choice. If Tsunade wants you to go through this, you have to do it."

"No, I don't," I argued, a slight quiver entering my voice.

"You do." He didn't look over at me until he heard me whimper. I was crying by then, shaking my head and no longer walking.

"I don't want to," I whispered, looking up at him with wide, fear-filled gold eyes as he stopped beside me.

He stared at me for a moment, no emotion entering his expression, then he looked straight ahead and began walking again. "I'll see if I can get Tsunade to put the hypnosis off for a while."

I let out a shaky breath and began following him, wiping away my tears. "Thank you, Kakashi," I said softly.

"Don't thank me yet," he told me casually. I just shook my head and continued walking along behind him. After this, the trip was silent.

-

We reached Konoha just before noon, finding Shizune waiting for us just inside the gates. She smiled at Kakashi before turning to me and saying, "Tsunade would like to see you."

I tensed, but tried to act like I was calm. "Why?"

The woman shrugged. "I'm not sure. I was just told to find you."

"Am I allowed to come?" Kakashi asked from where he stood beside me.

Shizune shook her head and said, "No. Tsunade made it clear that she wanted to see Keiko alone."

Kakashi nodded, looking down at me. "Will you be all right on your own?" I started to shake my head, but he looked away. "I'll see you when you return to my apartment, then." And with that, he walked off.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Shizune said with another smile before beginning to lead me down the street. I followed her, horrified.

Tsunade noticed my look of horror when Shizune and I entered her office.

"What's wrong?" the older woman asked, cocking an eyebrow. My eyes flicked to the man standing beside her desk, dressed in the usual ANBU attire, and she quickly understood. "Kakashi told you about the hypnosis, didn't he?"

"I don't want to remember," was all I said in reply to this, my voice a soft, fearful whisper.

"You'll have to remember eventually," Tsunade told me with a wave of her hand. "Better sooner than later, right?"

"No," I whispered, now looking at the man as he stepped forward.

"Please, have a seat," he told me, gesturing to a chair that was waiting for me in front of Tsunade's desk.

"I...I...No. I can't," I said, taking a shaky step back.

"You can, and you will," Tsunade told me angrily, obviously annoyed. "Either do as you're told willingly, or we will use force."

I let out a pathetic whimper, but cautiously sat down, looking up at the man with wide eyes.

"Just relax," the male told me. He performed a few hand signs, and soon, I was slumped in the chair, unable to be afraid because I was entranced. I was told to think back, back to the days before Kakashi was with me. My mind tried to do as it was told, but it simply couldn't. "Now, what do you remember? How did you become an amnesiac?" the man asked me, apparently unable to notice that I couldn't remember anything.

Eyes closed, I smiled almost tauntingly, letting out a sleepy, mocking giggle. "I can't tell you that."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know."

Silence. Then, a yell from Tsunade. "What do you mean you don't know?!"

"Lady Tsunade, please calm down," Shizune begged.

Tsunade ignored her and turned her shouting to the man. "Are you even doing this right?!"

"Y-yes, ma'am. This just means..." He trailed off, causing Tsunade to growl.

"What does it mean?!" she shouted.

"It means..." The man gulped. "It means, this amnesia was self-induced."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Self-induced?" Tsunade said questioningly. "How?"

"Through the use of a jutsu, I'd imagine," the male answered. He allowed me to snap out of my trance after a moment, and I frowned as I looked from him to Tsunade. "A very complex one if it's able to fight off even reverse hypnosis."

"How can her memories be returned to her, then?" Shizune asked, curious.

"Through the use of some sort of trigger," the man answered, now looking down at me. "It could be anything from a word to a person to a song, making it very hard to figure out."

"But why would she do this?" Tsunade questioned, also looking at me.

"More than likely because she knew that someone who needed information was after her. Without any memories, she couldn't tell anyone any secrets, no matter what they did to her."

"C-can I go now?" I asked as I got to my feet and began backing away from the man.

Tsunade sighed, running a hand over her face tiredly. "I suppose so."

"Th-thank you," I stammered before almost running out of the room. I didn't stop running until I was outside and halfway to Kakashi's apartment, and even then, I paused for only a moment to catch my breath. I resumed my running again after that, even faster than before.

I burst into Kakashi's home and looked around quickly, panicking slightly. Panic began to mix with anger when I realized that he wasn't there. He wasn't waiting for me.

I ran back out after leaving my bag on the bed, gradually slowing to a walk when I made it outside. I had my sword in my hand. I began to search the village slowly, trying to find that son of a bitch, Kakashi. I found him calmly conversing with another shinobi near the academy, not seeming the slightest bit worried or guilty.

The men's conversation ceased when I stopped behind Kakashi and whispered sadly, almost dejectedly, "You abandoned me."

The gray-haired jounin turned to face me calmly, having the nerve to say, "No, I didn't."

I glanced around Kakashi to the brown-haired male standing behind him. "You should get the hell out of Dodge. I'm about to kill him," I said solemnly.

"Uh," was all the man had to say. He seemed unsure, looking to Kakashi for guidance. The masked jounin shrugged nonchalantly, and the brunette walked away.

Kakashi turned to me at that point, sighing. "I didn't abandon you."

"You did, too. You left me all alone with Tsunade, then you weren't even waiting for me when I got back!" Now, my panic was gone, though a new feeling had emerged to mesh with my rage: hurt.

"I had no choice but to let you go alone. You heard Shizune. Tsunade wanted me to stay out of it."

I glared at him, clenching one of my fists. My other hand could only tighten around my sheathed sword. "You didn't even try to convince Shizune to let you come, anyway! You might have been able to persuade her, you know, and then, you could've done the same to Tsunade!"

Kakashi shook his head, still so calm it was annoying. "It would have been too much trouble."

"Oh. So, fighting to stay by my side when I need you is too much trouble?" My voice cracked near the end of the sentence, a sudden wetness streaming down my cheeks. I wiped angrily at my eyes, even more pissed off now that I was crying...again. I mean, really. I _killed _people for a living. Or, at least, I had before. Killers didn't cry. Not nearly as often as I did, if at all.

"Honestly, in this case, yes," Kakashi answered, completely disregarding my tears. When I turned to him, my look one of utter shock, he explained, "Convincing Shizune would have taken a while, and Tsunade never would have consented to having me present. If she hadn't wanted me around to begin with, she wouldn't have changed her mind later on just because I tried to persuade her."

Hating that he was right, I decided to ignore it and move on to my next argument. "And what about when you weren't waiting for me? I thought you'd be there. Was it too much trouble for you to just stay home for a while, too?" I wiped away a few more tears with the back of my hand. God...They just wouldn't stop coming.

He shook his head. "I had planned to be waiting for you, but I hadn't thought you'd be out so soon. I'd assumed Tsunade would have several questions to ask you."

I shrugged, sniffling lightly. "I wouldn't know. We didn't get past the first main one."

Kakashi's nonchalance vanished. It seemed his interest was piqued. "Oh?"

I nodded slowly. "I...can't remember what happened to me. Not even with the hypnosis...Apparently, my amnesia was self-induced."

"Ah. That makes sense." I cocked my head, and he continued. "You couldn't recall any basic information, but you were still able to fight and recall your own jutsu. Whatever you used to make yourself forget erased everything that wasn't necessary for survival. That would be useful for someone who didn't want to give up any secrets, but still wanted to keep themselves alive for a while."

"Someone like Koushoku," I murmured, understanding. My head tilted the other way as I asked, "Who was she trying to hide her secrets from, though?"

Kakashi shrugged. "ANBU, scouts, opposing assassins...There are too many possibilities, and we can't rule any out."

My brow furrowed. "Do you think whoever she...I was running from will come back for me?"

"That's another thing we can't rule out, though there's also a chance that they could give up on getting whatever information they wanted and leave you alone."

"Or they could get it from someone else," I pointed out. "What if they went after Mika?"

"She would probably do the same thing as Koushoku did. I'm sure they both knew the same jutsu."

"True...But now I find myself wondering what information they're all trying to hide."

"We don't even know if there is a _they _yet," Kakashi stated. "Maybe only Koushoku knew. Maybe not even her own comrades have the same knowledge."

My gold eyes widened slightly. "That means that it's possible that Mika may have been the one who attacked her...me. Or Koushoku's boyfriend. Or someone else working alongside her."

"Exactly. There are infinite possibilities. Anyone could have been after Koushoku for any reason. Maybe they didn't even want any information. Maybe Koushoku rid herself of those memories for another reason."

I rubbed my head, my gaze dropping to the ground. I wiped away the remnants of my tears now that I had stopped crying and said, "This whole thinking thing is making my brain hurt..."

Kakashi laughed lightly. "Well, if you no longer plan to kill me, we can rest for a while." I looked up and noticed that he was smiling behind his mask. "Would you like to join me for a quick meal?"

Now over my abandonment issue, I returned the smile. "Sure. That hypnosis thing took a lot out of me."

"All right," he said, beginning to walk down the road. "Let's go." I followed with that smile still plastered on my face.

-

"That was delicious, Kakashi," I said as we left the restaurant a while later. "I'm glad we didn't have to have ramen again."

Kakashi chuckled, walking alongside me and matching my unhurried pace. "Yeah. Ramen was getting pretty boring."

"Mm," I agreed, smiling. We were silent for a moment, then I asked, "So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day? It's only three o'clock."

"What would you like to do?" Kakashi questioned while glancing in my direction.

I shrugged. "I don't know...What can we do?"

"We could-" He was cut off by the voice of a certain hyperactive blond.

"Kakashi-sensei! You're back!" Naruto ran right up to us, sliding to a stop about a foot away from where we stood.

"Indeed I am," the boy's teacher said, a small smile hidden behind his mask. "Is there something you need?"

"Nah," the genin replied as he put his arms behind his head. "I just wanted to say hello!"

"Am I included in that?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at the boy. "Or is it only meant for Kakashi?"

He smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh, sorry, Keiko. I keep forgetting that you're around."

"I'm not sure whether to accept your apology or hurt you for forgetting about me," I told him, smiling to let him know I was just kidding. I got distracted suddenly when the afternoon sun hit his headband, making it glint brightly. "Oooh," I mumbled, fascinated. "Shiny."

Naruto lowered his arms and took a step back, seeming slightly afraid of me now that I was too focused on his forehead. "Um...What are you doing?" he asked when I suddenly handed my sword to Kakashi and moved closer to him, my hands going to where the blue fabric of his headband was knotted at the back.

"I'm stealing this for a second," I informed the younger male as I undid the knot, careful to avoid pulling his hair. "I wanna know what it's like to get to have a headband." Both the boy and his sensei watched curiously as I put the headband around my own head, tying it quickly. "How do I look?" I asked, striking a pose.

"Erm...Interesting," Naruto answered, seeming slightly weirded out.

"How about like this?" I asked, shifting the band so it was slanted across my forehead and covering my left eye. "It's my Kakashi look."

Kakashi laughed lightly and said, "It looks great, but I think you should give Naruto his headband back. I imagine he has things to do that are more important than watching you model his headband for him."

I sighed, reluctantly removing the headband. "Fine, fine." I went back over to Naruto and put the item back in its place, carefully tying it at the back for him. "There," I said as I stepped back. "All better."

"Thanks, Keiko," the boy said, offering me a quick smile. "See ya later, Kakashi!" And with that, he ran off, apparently eager to escape me and my issues. I sighed again as I watched him go.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked me once Naruto had disappeared from view.

"I want a headband, damn it," I mumbled pissily, now crossing my arms and glaring at the ground.

"But you aren't a Leaf ninja."

"So? Can't I become one or something?" I questioned, turning my questioning gaze to the male.

"I don't think Tsunade would like that idea. After all, you are technically a wanted killer, whether you remember it or not."

"Oh, come on," I whined. "She could go for it. Isn't your village in need of more shinobi, anyway?"

"How did you know that?" Kakashi asked almost suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes at his tone. "I've wandered around this village a few times, Kakashi. People talk, ya know, and I can hear what they're saying."

"Ah. Of course." The man then slipped into thoughtful mode, looking down silently. He was actually pondering my request...Miraculous, in my opinion. "You don't want to be a ninja just because of the headband, right?" he asked after a few seconds, his eye going to me once more.

I nodded. "Well, yeah. The headband would be nice and all, but I'd like to help, too. I mean, you and Tsunade are the only reason I'm not locked in a prison cell or something right now. I owe you. I owe your village."

He nodded once. "Then we'll talk to Tsunade sometime."

I smiled up at the masked man. "All right. Thank you, Kakashi."

"You're welcome. Now, what are we going to do?"

"Erm...Isn't it time for my nap...er...rest?" I asked, glancing up at the bright afternoon sky.

Kakashi laughed lightly. "If you want it to be."

I grinned at him. "I do."

"All right, then. Let's get back to my apartment."

"Okay."

He began to walk in the direction of his home, and I followed silently. He looked straight ahead as we walked along, but my attention was on his masked face. Cautiously, I let my arm slip between his and his side, hooking around it and pulling it to me. Much to my relief, his only reaction was a small smile. I turned my gaze to the path ahead, smiling softly to myself.

Maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. Maybe I'd stay like this forever, an innocent amnesiac with a dark past she couldn't be blamed for because of her condition. Maybe I'd be able to become a Leaf shinobi, so I could do some good to make up for all the bad I couldn't remember. Maybe I'd be able to remain at Kakashi's side for a good, long time. And maybe, just maybe, he'd want me there. Maybe he already did.

With the bright light of hope turning my worry and fear into small, insignificant shadows in the corners of my mind, I went to take a long-needed nap and dream of a long-wanted future.

Maybe, just maybe, all of my farfetched, optimistic dreams would come true.

Maybe.


End file.
